


lonely rivers flow

by time_streams



Category: Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, F/M, pottery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29751345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/time_streams/pseuds/time_streams
Summary: Logan's good at . . . art? Veronica has no patience for his shoddy deception.
Relationships: Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars
Comments: 9
Kudos: 33
Collections: VMFF Galentine's Day Gift Exchange





	lonely rivers flow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [His_Beautiful_Girl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/His_Beautiful_Girl/gifts).



> Happy Galentine's Day HBG!!!! I know this is EXTREMELY LATE, but I hope you like it. It's been a while since I've actually written fic, so this is a bit rough. 
> 
> I blame a certain ceramics collection that's been going around the internet for this.

I

Jane suggests art therapy and he is absolutely dumbfounded. Logan doesn’t know what about his entire being ever suggested that painting was something he even remotely cared about. 

“I just think it would be healthy for you to have an outlet that wasn’t entirely physical or even quite as fixed. It might be helpful to have something a little bit more creative,” she continues, “Music doesn’t seem to be something you are interested in. And given our past discussions on theater and cinema, perhaps it would be best to leave that aside.”

She sits back in her armchair, waiting for his response. He’s always liked her office. The artfully distressed armchair, muted colors, the sheer number of plants. The best thing about it - the utter lack of motivational posters. 

He’s never really considered art. Neither of his parents had ever really dabbled in it (barring Aaron’s publicity tour of the art of glass-blowing - permanently struck off his bucket list) and for all the money Trina poured into the rites of the Rich and Famous, she never tried it either.

As for himself, he had always preferred writing. He might have been a journalist, an English Lit professor, or if he’s really living out things that would never happen even if hell froze over, a screenwriter. But, different choices, different paths. He stopped writing because it only fed into his spirals. 

Art is something new. He might as well try - Carrie’s off on tour, he’s at home for 6 months, and Dick’s always up to try anything at least once.

“Okay. I’ll try.”

II

Logan starts with painting. And is instantly reminded of why this whole scheme might be a ridiculous idea. The instructor is nice, the people ignore him, and Dick takes to it like a duck to water. But, he’s just so bored. Logan can’t paint. He hates the easel, the stool, and the music is terrible. He doesn’t like being bad at things and he really cannot stress this enough but - he. cannot. paint. But what he truly hates are the paints. The paint fumes remind him of hours spent “helping” the girls with school fundraisers and pep squad paraphernalia. 

Dick picks drawing. Drawing...is marginally better. He thanks someone or something that Dick picked a still life class. Again, he’s bored and uncomfortable. 

He stumbles upon a photography class and immediately leaves.

They cycle through collage, scrapbooking, mosaic, and two very weird weeks where he’s dragged through the wonderous world of needlework and yarn. 

He can’t paint or draw but he does end up with a house chock-filled with yarn and embroidery - Dick now hosts knitting club on Tuesdays and embroidery on Thursdays (when Loan asks, all he gets is some drivel about needing to “decompress” before his four-day weekend lifestyle)

It’s been a month and he’s about to give up when he signs up for a pottery class on a whim. At this point, he’s just resigned to this also turning out to be a dud. 

It’s a small studio filled with racks of misshapen pots, vases, and some suspect sculptures. The instructor is a 20-something art student named Kai, who preemptively bans all references to the Righteous Brothers. 

Logan settles behind one of the empty pottery wheels, not really a challenge as there are only 3 other people. There’s a lump of clay sitting atop the wheel and a plastic bucket of water to the side. He smacks the clay blob in the middle and starts the wheel. Logan dips his hands into the water and starts shaping the clay.

The earthiness of clay fills the air as he struggles to keep a handle on the former lump. Something is calming about the repetitive motions required to get an even shape, the concentration he needs to maintain. He ends up with either a flat bowl or a curved plate. Dealer’s choice, or something like that. 

He returns two days later. And keeps coming back till Kai gets annoyed and just asks him to sign up for the 6-week class they teach over the summer. 

When he shows up with a pottery wheel during KnitSesh, Dick only pauses to ask if they can convert the guest suite to a studio. 

III

Logan doesn’t mean to hide the fact he moonlights as a potter from Veronica. He really, truly doesn’t. But between her dad’s accident, Carrie’s case, and his deployment, it just slips from his mind. And if it continues to slip from his mind when he comes back, well it’s only because they have 9 years to make up for. Besides, Dick’s guest room is still his studio and it’s not like he hides the fact he does spend a lot of time there. His home is filled with his work and honestly, he just assumed she didn’t want to talk about it.

So, he really can’t be blamed for not bringing it up (he chooses not to dwell on the  _ whys _ of the existence of this defense). Life goes on, Logan zones out with clay, Veronica settles into her Neptune roots, and they adopt Pony.

They decide to move after the Grace Manning case. Neptune may be home, but he doesn’t think either of them ever belonged in it. In a completely original move, they relocate to a place an hour outside of town. 

The pottery wheel and kiln remain in Dick’s studio (who, incidentally had picked up drawing classes on Wednesdays and turned into a three-day weekend guy)

IV

She doesn’t say anything about all the vases. There’s nothing inherently wrong with them - it’s just that there are  _ a lot _ of them. If she’s being honest, they are quite beautiful and well-made but it’s still fucking bizarre to have  _ so many  _ of them. Also, she’s not stupid; the genius has his initials right under the lip of each vase.

But, people pick up weird things as they get older and there was that 9-year gap, so she writes the vase thing off as a 09’er thing. 

Still, she’s not a PI for nothing, so if she keeps a detailed list of their design (shape, color, size, spouts, handles - of course), the order of appearance, and location, that’s her business.

Veronica considers bringing them up, but Logan’s silence on the issue is endearing in its own way (HA! She IS capable of personal growth). Thus, the game is born.

The rules of the game are very simple and as follows:

  1. Do not bring up the vases.
  2. Each new unit is to be immediately cataloged (ONLY IN LOGAN’S ABSENCE)
  3. Each unit is slightly shifted each day to acknowledge the addition to their home
  4. Points are rewarded when an item is added to a vase and a reaction is received
    1. 1 point - Unit is shifted back to the original position
    2. 2 points - Addition merits a second look
    3. 5 points - Eyebrow raise
    4. 10 points - Confrontation
  5. DO NOT MENTION THE VASES



A month after they move in, she’s lost track of the points she’s won. She’s escalated to crafting flowers - Veronica adds a paper peony to a vase every day - in hopes of just raising the issue. Either she’s lost her mojo, or Logan’s just gotten much, much better at evasion. 

Using her years of experience as a private investigator and her law school research skills, she determines that his old studio must be at Dick’s beach house.  _ Ugh. _ Her previous awe at Logan’s skills of deception dips. It’s like he’s learned nothing. What a waste of her skillset.

V

He knows she knows. This whole waiting game is amateur hour - Paper flowers? Please, he remembers Floral Fiasco ‘03. Lilly’s magical pollen allergy always turned up during the Kane Flower Show. Celeste’s hatred of papercraft and the subsequent meltdown was legendary. 

They seemed to have reached an impasse - Logan doesn’t mention his penchant for pottery and Veronica isn’t going to bring it up first. He should know better than to take the stalemate as a win. At this point, he doesn’t know why he hasn’t brought it up but this secret is fun and harmless - uncharacteristic for their relationship. He knows that if Veronica was genuinely bothered by it, she would have asked him about it. The almost-decade in between both reminds and shows him that they indeed have grown up. 

Which is why when Dick calls him about the missing equipment, he doesn’t freak out. A quick scan through the studio shows that it’s mostly undisturbed (Dick’s KnitSesh turned his former room into a storage closet). His stuff is missing - a key lies in place of his kiln on the floor.

VI

One of the reasons they bought their current home was the backyard shed. Veronica had fallen in love with it, although she would refuse any warm feelings even if she were questioned under duress. It had a large, oval window, looking out into the yard. It was the perfect size to serve as an office (“The closet, Logan! A dark room!” was all she had said about the place). 

Over the last week, Veronica had spent a lot of time traipsing back and forth, between the guest room that had actually become their home office and the shed. He should have known something was up, but the anticipation of their odd game of chicken had completely distracted him.

He shook his head, straightened his posture, and prepared to enter the Shed (capitals were the right way to go). Logan unlocked the door and pushed it open. Of course, Veronica wasn’t in the Shed. Instead, he found a square room lined with shelving units along 2 walls. The rest of his collection filled the rows. Photography equipment and stacks of paper are found on a large, white craft table. A curtain covers the door to the darkroom. His wheel was under the window and the kiln off to a corner. On the craft table, opposite the window, was either a flat bowl or a curved plate. There was a piece of cream-colored cardstock with some writing on it:

1 - 0 

You should be proud that I did not stoop to singing the song.

Love, V


End file.
